AI Breakthrough That Could Threaten Humanity Might Have Been Key To Sam Altman’s Firing
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Almost a week has passed since the OpenAI board fired CEO Sam Altman without explaining its actions. By Tuesday, the board reinstated Altman and appointed a new board to oversee the OpenAI operations. An investigation into what happened was also promised, something I believe all ChatGPT users deserve. We're talking about a company developing an incredibly exciting resource, AI. But also one that could eradicate humanity. Or so some people fear.
Theories were running rampant in the short period between Altman's ouster and return, with some speculating that OpenAI has developed an incredibly strong GPT-5 model. Or that OpenAI had reached AGI, artificial general intelligence that could operate just as good as humans. That the board was simply doing its job, protecting the world against the irresponsible development of AI.
It turns out the guesses and memes weren't too far off. We're not on the verge of dealing with dangerous AI, but a new report says that OpenAI delivered a massive breakthrough in the days preceding Altman's firing.
The new algorithm (Q* or Q-Star) could threaten humanity, according to a letter unnamed OpenAI researchers sent to the board. The letter and the Q-Star algorithm might have been key developments that led to the firing of Altman.
Reuters, which has not seen the letter, the document was one factor. There's apparently a longer list of grievances that convinced the board to fire Altman. The board worried about the company's fast pace of commercializing ChatGPT advances before understanding the consequences.
OpenAI declined to comment to Reuters, but the company acknowledged project Q-Star in a message to staffers and the letter to the board. Mira Murati, who was the first interim CEO the board appointment after letting Altman go, apparently alerted the staff on the Q-Star news that was about to break.
It's too early to tell whether Q-Star is AGI, and OpenAI was busy with the CEO drama rather than making public announcements. And the company might not want to announce such innovation anytime soon, especially if caution is needed.
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